![The sharemarket doesn't exist to let you invest, but so companies can raise capital.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/k/o/e/u/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gugdhs.png/1487537221163.jpg)
Investing
![The sharemarket doesn't exist to let you invest, but so companies can raise capital.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/k/o/e/u/image.related.wideLandscape.460x259.gugdhs.png/1487537221163.jpg)
Does employee ownership make companies more successful?
![People who play musical instruments on the weekend for fun are proof that intrinsic motivation beats financial rewards.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/f/u/1/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gufro2.png/1487663161379.jpg)
Does it make sense to invest in companies with a high level of employee ownership?
The beauty of fully franked dividends
![Focus on maximising your after-tax income rather than tax minimisation.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/w/1/r/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.gufabs.png/1487300621889.jpg)
Far too many Australians let the tax "tail" wag the investing dog.
Gold medal goes to the yellow metal's biggest backer
![Gold shines for shares race winner.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/o/p/k/8/image.related.landscape.120x80.guf31h.png/1487293522587.jpg)
Chartist Richard Pritchard takes line honours at the close the four-week Shares Race as his decision to back gold pays off.
'It's a stock-picker's market' and other cliches
![</p>](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/z/l/7/s/image.related.landscape.120x80.guddnu.png/1487205465274.jpg)
Watch for loose words designed to part you from your money.
What the averages don't tell you about investing in retail
![Marcs and David Lawrence collapsed recently.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/3/k/d/3/image.related.landscape.120x80.gua7y2.png/1487398935173.jpg)
You might have heard the Australian economy is enjoying an unprecedented run of economic good fortune.
Motley Fool: How to invest in a Trumpian world
![Investors can't ignore US President Donald Trump.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/6/7/z/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gu69sh.png/1486516558010.jpg)
The rules have changed … or have they?
Gold continues to shine for tipsters on back of Trump concerns
![Gold prices are on the rise.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/v/f/v/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gu4l3t.png/1486079080582.jpg)
The top three places remain unchanged at the end of week two of the four-week Shares Race, as the themes of the first week continued into the second.
Growth stock investors jumpy as profit season under way
![Aconex CEO Leigh Jasper. Aconex shares lost 45 per cent of their value in a single day last week.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/5/v/f/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gu42oj.png/1486074796069.jpg)
How to tell if a stock is going to disappoint.
Tipsters backing gold miners in front as resources look up thanks to Trump
![Mining services companies are doing well, along with gold miners.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/0/w/f/6/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtzqjp.png/1485480982125.jpg)
Tipsters with portfolios loaded up with gold miners and mining services companies have done best in the first week of the four-week Shares Race.
Market volatility not as scary as it seems
![Volatility on share markets can be a reminder to make sure you are in the right super fund investment option.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/x/u/h/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtye08.png/1485836402308.jpg)
With returns from super getting bumpier, it's important for members to make sure they are in the right investment option.
Trump, Brexit and super changes in the mix for 2017
![Australian shares may not reproduce the bumper returns of 2016 this year.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/f/k/c/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtugv2.png/1485143666629.jpg)
What a year 2016 was. Britons voted to leave the European Union, Donald Trump won the US presidential election – and financial markets reacted well to these events.
BetaShares launches 'true to label' ethical ETF
![BetaShares launches deep-green exchange traded fund](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/6/h/w/g/image.related.landscape.120x80.gts3n4.png/1484615916903.jpg)
Specialist exchange traded fund (ETF) provider, BetaShares, has launched an ETF that gives investors access to a portfolio of the world's leading sustainable and ethical companies in one investment.
How to claw back the age pension
![It's not too late for many retirees to get back some of the age pension.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/k/h/g/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtpyhd.png/1484695891066.jpg)
Changes to the age pension assets test that took effect from January 1 have seen about 200,000 better-off retirees receiving smaller pension payments.
Investors should focus on the forest, not the trees
![Sometimes focusing on the details means we miss the bigger picture.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/7/l/2/i/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtqsz8.png/1484270913320.jpg)
Overcome this investment mistake to improve your returns.
Here's how to best trade the Trump presidency
![President-elect Donald Trump's 100-day plan has injected confidence into the sharemarkets.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/c/b/k/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtdodl.png/1483495616731.jpg)
"Investors are visionaries in some respects – they look beyond the present."
The lucky country for investors
![<P>](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/t/v/y/4/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtcux8.png/1482095806238.jpg)
Why 2017, like every other year, is shaping up to be a good one.
Six ways to be better investor through entertainment
![The excellent John Oliver, British comedian and host of the US Last Week Tonight Show, takes a satirical view of news, ...](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/t/a/9/f/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtdqrq.png/1483584991031.jpg)
The summer holidays are the best time to make good on all the New Year's resolutions you've ever made to get "better at" money and investing.
Five biggest mistakes people make saving for retirement
![ETFs give you exposure to a market, without high fees.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/l/i/u/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtdp3h.png/1482095166013.jpg)
Saving for retirement is a multi-decade investing venture, even for those approaching retirement.
What's your big investment idea for 2017?
![Gina Rinehart and Andrew (Twiggy) Forrest: dream duo?](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/b/6/k/j/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtb5wd.png/1484533641211.jpg)
As they say in the stockmarket, if you have one good idea a year, it's a good year.
2016: A year of surprises
![Investors turned on former market darlings such as Bellamy's Organic.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/b/4/k/2/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtb4c6.png/1484261223073.jpg)
Things that are always clear in hindsight are never clear at the time. But 2016 has really outdone itself.
HotCopper is too hot
![The HotCopper site is a sharemarket forum perhaps better known for spruiking and rampant speculation, rather than ...](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/a/y/f/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtay97.png/1481703760215.jpg)
There is as much hot air in HotCopper's share price as there is in its forums.
Rich is a state of mind, not a bank balance
![Charles Dickens' Ebenezer Scrooge (played here by Jim Carrey) is the fictional archetype of the miserable rich person.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/a/x/k/x/image.related.landscape.120x80.gtaxcz.png/1481859309836.jpg)
Look no further than the hordes of rich but miserable celebrities and Lotto winners.
How some millennials are buying property without family help
![Kirti Mahraj, 23 and Adil Mohiuddin, 25 bought a house in Sydney without family money.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/d/9/v/d/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt9lej.png/1482381020706.jpg)
The reality of buying a house without family money seems increasingly far-fetched, but these three young men beat the odds.
The investment lies we tell ourselves
![The lies we tell ourselves are the most dangerous of all.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/9/d/s/n/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt9do6.png/1481575795183.jpg)
The hardest part of investing is not the balance sheet analysis or ratio calculations. It's the way we use that information.
The hidden danger of investing in aged care
![Aged care is destined to have increasing demand, but there may be oversupply.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/2/9/y/z/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt9e28.png/1482186413304.jpg)
Favourable demand forecasts aren't enough to make money in aged care. Focus on supply.
Galaxy Resources up 46pc, while Cre8tek nearly doubles
![A Panasonic lithium-ion flexible battery that's just 0.55 millimetres thick.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/1/k/8/a/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt7gr2.png/1481359916546.jpg)
Galaxy Resources, a mining company focused on lithium, has emerged as one of the strongest performers in the final Shares Race for 2016.
Bad Santa and Banqer – teaching school kids about money
![The company said it recorded $158 million in local sales in the last six months of 2016, down 31 per cent on the same ...](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/b/v/9/1/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt73wk.png/1487722976642.jpg)
There is little doubt that fostering financial literacy in young people leads to more confident decision making in adulthood which in turn leads to lower stress and better outcomes.
The outlook for investors in 2017
![The Australian economy will face global challenges, especially if the US changes trade policies.](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/j/i/d/q/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt739k.png/1481627943101.jpg)
Despite historic low interest rates, super funds and investors generally have fared well in 2016.
Monopolies beware, tech is out to get you
![Walmart might be many times the size of the next largest retailer in the US, but it still has well under half of the ...](/web/20170224175531im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/4/q/2/m/image.related.landscape.120x80.gt4q30.png/1480980313678.jpg)
Complacent investors may feel the pain.